Chennai, September 06, 2023: The Regional Review meeting of the National Ayush Mission was ceremonially inaugurated by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal along with the Union Minister of State for Ayush & Women and Child Development, Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai; Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Ma Subramanian; Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of Karnataka, Dinesh Gundu Rao; Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha among other senior officials from Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala & Tamil Nadu, UT of Puducherry, UT of Lakshadweep and Ministry of Ayush, Govt of India.
During the meeting, all the participating states & union territories presented detailed presentations on the state of Ayush and the progress of leading Ayush programs under implementation.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, said, “Today, we had a very fruitful discussion on Ayush and how the traditional system of medicine can be promoted further towards realising a Swastha Bharat – the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Our rich heritage and potential of traditional form of medicine has withstood the test of time in generations of humanity to live a better, healthier and happier life. We must take full advantage of these generous forms of medicine – be it Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy, Sowa Rigpa, or Homoeopathy. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we have been working towards scientifically integrating traditional forms of medicine with modern medicine. This will not only help people heal from ailments but also empower them to stay healthy to enjoy a better quality of life. Modi ji has not only encouraged the use of traditional medicine in India but has also led a global movement to invest, innovate and integrate traditional medicine with modern medicine to develop a holistic line of healthcare solutions. In this spirit, I would like to call all the southern states to explore the possibility of setting up an Integrated Ayush Department in all its leading state hospitals, in line with the setting up of similar departments in all 19 AIIMS.”
Highlighting the utility of Ayush system of medicine, Sarbananda Sonowal, further said, “Ayush has some robust programmes like Ayurvidya for promotion of healthy lifestyle through Ayush for school children; Supraja: Ayush for Maternal & Neonatal intervention; Vayomitra which is Ayush based geriatric programme; Prevention and management of Osteoarthritis and other Musculoskeletal disorders, Ayush Mobile Medical units etc. will strengthen the Ayush systems. Our beautiful state of Tamil Nadu with its rich heritage also contributes strongly to the ever-growing popularity of Ayush through Siddha. We believe Siddha has more to offer to make humanity healthier and happier. We must work towards the promotion of Siddha, not just in & around the periphery of Tamil Nadu but the whole of India so that more and more people can avail the wonderful benefits of Siddha to lead a better, healthier and happier life.”
The Union Cabinet has approved for operationalization of 12,500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) by the Ministry of Ayush through State/UT Governments as a component of National Ayush Mission (NAM) by the year 2023-24. The main objectives are to establish a holistic wellness model based on Ayush principles and practices, to empower the masses for “self-care” to reduce the disease burden, out of pocket expenditure and to provide informed choice to the needy public. Ministry of Ayush has so far released Rs. 719.70 crores to southern states/UTs (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana) under NAM since 2014-15. Ministry has also supported 17 Integrated Ayush hospitals in Southern States and out of that 06 are operational as reported by them. Out of 12,500 AHWCs, the Ministry has already supported 2181 AHWCs in Southern States/UTs and out of that 1518 are reported functional by them.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Ayush and Women & Child Development, Dr Mahendrabhai Munjapara, said, “I believe we have to emphasize outcomes as a more meaningful measure of program value than output. We may have to realign our strategies and techniques to plan, execute and report our performance that facilitates the measure of outcomes. I am confident that discussions today will give us an opportunity to learn from each other the best practices and build a strong bond among all of us. With the active participation of States, it is expected to ensure better access to Ayush healthcare services, better availability of medicines & trained manpower, improvement in Ayush education through a well-equipped and added number of Ayush Educational Institutions, reduction in communicable/non-communicable diseases through targeted Public Health Programmes using the strengths of Ayush systems of medicine.”
Till 2022-23, 315 Ayush Hospitals and 5,023 Ayush dispensaries have been supported for Up-gradation of infrastructure and other facilities. Financial Assistance has also been provided for 13 New Ayush Educational Institutions and 77 Undergraduate and 35 Post-Graduate Ayush Educational Institutes have been supported for upgradation of infrastructure, Library and other things.
Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)
